The Environmental Law and Policy Review would like to thank and congratulate all on a successful 2012 Symposium! We would especially like to thank the speakers at “Managing Green Business: Defining, Regulating, and Supporting Environmentally Sustainable Businesses”: Judd Sneirson, Paulette Stenzel, Rick Irvin, Peter Appel, Antony Page, Robert Katz, Heather Hughes, and Preston Bryant. We’d also like to mention Jay Sinha, Mary Button, Mia Shirley, and Matt Turtoro, without whose hard work this Symposium would not be possible. Please take a look at our Presentation Summaries!

Experts will discuss the finer points of environmentally and socially responsible enterprises as the concept solidifies in the business and legal world: how to identify them, how to regulate them, and how to promote their growth. The program is free and open to the public. Seating is first come, first served. For more information about the symposium, contact the William & Mary Environmental Law & Policy Review at elprwm@gmail.com.

The program is approved for 7.5 credit hours by the Virginia Mandatory Continuing Legal Education Board. ($20 registration fee for MCLE applies). Those that would like to attend for MCLE credit must contact the William & Mary Environmental Law & Policy Review at elprwm@gmail.com by January 25, 2012 to pre-register.

The William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review’s annual symposium, titled “Managing Green Business: Defining, Regulating, and Supporting Environmentally Responsible Businesses” will be held over January 27-28, 2012. Discussion shall cover a number of topics examining more closely aspects of the concept of “green business.” As currently scheduled, three speakers are scheduled to present on Friday: Judd Sneirson, Visiting Associate Professor of Law at Hofstra University; Kemi Fuentes-George, Assistant Professor of Political Science at Middlebury University; and Paulette L. Stenzel, Professor at Michigan State University. On Saturday, six individuals are slated to give five presentations: Peter A. Appel, Alex W. Smith Professor of Law at the University of Georgia, and T. Rick Irvin, Adjunct Professor at the University of Georgia; Heather Hughes, Professor at American University; Antony Page, Professor of Law at Indiana University; Robert A. Katz, Professor of Law at Indiana University; and L. Preston Bryant, Jr., Chairman, National Capital Planning Commission.

Professor Sneirson’s presentation is titled “The Myth and Reality of Green Business.” He plans to discuss how companies can and do genuinely engage in green business practices, what that means, and how many companies portray themselves as green when in fact they are far from it.

Professor Fuentes-George will present information on biodiversity economics, based in research in Latin America, and will focus his discussion on organic certification.

Professor Stenzel will give a talk entitled “In an Age of Green Business, How Does Fair Trade Promote Sustainability?” This subject will cover how the United States ought to move toward demanding sustainable products and how fair trade regulations can support this goal.

Professors Appel and Irvin will present on achieving real time Green Product and Green Business Metrics, meaning results measured in months and years instead of decades. They will base the material in their work on case studies on the law governing the use of private ordering systems and corporate management systems.

Professor Hughes will discuss “Green Business and Private Law.” She will indicate how most environmental initiatives surrounding business are grounded in public law, such as through state and federal regulation. She will then explore the private law field, including commercial, property, contract, and corporations law areas, to demonstrate the potential within this under-utilized sector, specifically with a focus on finance.

Professor Page will compare and contrast two corporate legal forms recently introduced to assist in the formation and operation of environmentally responsible businesses. Elements examined should include qualification requirements, certification programs, and the standards applied to the corporate legal forms.

Professor Katz’s presentation will explore the use by the affluent of financial support of social enterprises in the developing world to discharge their ethical duties to humanity. Katz will examine a number of elements in the social enterprises to see which are most frequently chosen by donors; one element for example will be a “double bottom line” organization (focusing on profit generation and a societal mission) as opposed to those with a “triple bottom line” (which focus on environmental concerns as a third element).

Mr. Bryant will discuss his work on the Southwest Ecodistrict, a planning initiative in the District of Columbia that aims to redevelop a corridor of the Southwest quadrant in an environmentally responsible manner. The ecodistrict will integrate mixed-use zoning, green infrastructure practices, innovative technologies, willing commercial participants, and other elements to build a net-zero energy development.

The “Managing Green Business: Defining, Regulating, and Supporting Environmentally Responsible Businesses” symposium will focus on a number of issues related to managing the growth of the “green business” concept in today’s commercial world.

Joel Eisen, the final speaker of the symposium, closed the weekend with his presentation on the potentials and associated costs and benefits of implementing offshore wind development in America. America has the real and pressing need to reexamine and eventually reorganize our energy source. As the oil supply dwindles, lawmakers need to focus on moving away from fossil fuels and moving more toward renewable energy sources. Especially after Deepwater Horizon, which served to further highlight the many deficits of working with oil, the benefits of working with alternative energy sources became very much worth the cost.

Offshore wind has the capacity and potential to displace energy. More than three-fourths of the nation’s electricity comes from the coastal states. And as the technology becomes cheaper, the implementation of offshore wind turbines becomes more of a reality. In Europe, for example, there are a considerable amount of offshore wind developments currently underway. China, however, is emerging as the new leader in offshore wind developments and has been working diligently to continue to establish a presence in that technological resource.

Presently, the United States has no offshore wind turbines currently operating in America’s waters. Mr. Eisen enumerated several reasons for this current lack of offshore wind turbines and relative unpopularity of the concept. The first proposed reason was the expense of offshore projects. This is largely due to exchange rates as well as to complications with offshore technology. This problem will be remedied through future research and a better understanding of how to make offshore projects more economically efficient. An investment now will pay for itself as wind becomes more usably harnessed.

Secondly, Mr. Eisen cited the environmental issues associated with offshore wind projects. Some such issues include the impact on marine animals, potential for oil leakage, noise, and finally aesthetics. Residents of large beach-front properties complain of a marred view due to the presence of large turbines. Additionally there are maintenance and regulatory issues.

There is also the concern as to who will pay for the electricity. Nominally, from the start, offshore wind is more expensive than what is currently being paid. Therefore, to be effective offshore wind development will require forward thinking companies to engage in an agreement to purchase the power for a long period of time. This issue is still under debate as companies and legislators determine who is best suited to undertake this cost.

Finally, Mr. Eisen discussed the difficulties associated with jurisdiction. As they now stand, wind turbines fall under both state and federal agencies. There are issues with applying for and receiving both state and federal permits as well as a dozen other regulatory problems associated with both state and federal law. Developers are now attempting to negotiate multistate agreements in order to facilitate some of the hassles associated with this jurisdictional split.

Despite these concerns, however, there have been several attempts made to experiment with offshore wind. Nantucket Sound is ideally suited for offshore wind and development began under the project heading “Cape Wind.” This project is considerably larger than the Chinese project and would be considered a major technological advancement in the field. Right from the start, however, there was ferocious opposition from the project–stemming from local, state and federal authorities in addition to public opposition. In theory, there has been legislation that would allow the project to move forward, however, the associates of Cape Wind are still facing public opposition. Recently, groups attempted to thwart the project under the Historic Preservation Act. Associates of Cape Wind still remain dedicated to the project.

Mr. Eisen concluded his discussion of offshore wind by enumerating several reasons this topic is ripe for debate. First, the environmental issues associated with our current energy plan and the need to implement a successor before it is too late. Secondly, the technology associated with offshore wind looks to be the same as that associated with offshore drilling. Therefore, we simply need to continue what is an already established technological path. And the same can be said of the regulatory structure as well. Offshore wind is going to have a huge impact on our electrical supply and therefore it is necessary that it is regarded and explored with increasing dedication.